Vegan chef and owner of Idlewild bar and kitchen, Fred Musik hosted us for a day while he cooked up a range of delicious vegan treats for us. From burgers and tacos to pancakes with fresh fruits and syrup, we spoke to Fred about how he relaxes at home (with his three French bulldogs, obviously) and where he goes to hunt for his antiques and homeware accessories.

Can you tell us a bit about your story? How did you come to open Idlewild?

I was a freelance magazine designer for about 8 years before I became very frustrated with the lack of creativity and growing emphasis on revenue being the main factor of each page in a magazine. Around this time, my boyfriend Mark was looking to buy this bar and it was in such a state (brown leather sofas, curly fries, TVs on every wall) it was screaming ‘major project’. So I kept a few of my bigger freelance jobs but slowly moved into this full time.

UO: Walk us through a day in your life.

I wake up at 6am everyday, put grains in my pressure cooker for porridge and walk my three dogs in the woods in the 40 minutes it takes my porridge takes to cook. I have breakfast whilst flicking through real-news stories on Instagram.

I go to the gym for an hour or hour and a half and generally make it to work for 11am where I’ll either work on the floor for a couple hours, get emails and computer work done, or try out a new recipe in the kitchen with our chefs. I usually finish by 4pm and walk around Brighton and get some groceries or go and see my Dad or my brother and sister.

Mark and I don’t often go out for dinner locally as we cook better food at home these days, so I always make three meals a day for us both and that takes a bit of time. I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to cooking for people at home because I get really nervous but I often have people around for food in the evenings.

I rarely go up to my bar to socialise, as I find it hard to chill out there, but it’s by far the nicest place around, so I might get dragged out to meet some friends for a drink occasionally.

Usually though, I’ll go for a swim in the local reservoir or in the sea, read some conspiracy theories and try and expand my awareness a bit regarding what’s really going on in this planet before falling asleep wondering how I can change the world in the tiny amount of time I have here.

UO: How do you like to relax at home?

I like to relax at home by having a bath with loads of bubbles. I then slip into something floaty, light expensive scented candles, and dose off to Mariah Carey whilst laying on a pile of french bulldogs.

What should no home be without?

No home should be without french bulldogs or Mariah Carey.

UO: What’s your favourite piece in your house and where did you get it?

My 1960′s Yrjo Kakkupuro Karuselli chair which I bought off of 1stdibs.com

UO: Where’s your favourite place to go to hunt out furniture or pieces for your house?

Ebay is where it all started for me before chatting to dealers at places like Ardingly antiques fair (iacf.co.uk) to find out about other markets and fairs.
A lot of these places have become overpriced and watered down as so many stylists stupidly keep name checking them in interviews.
I wouldn’t go to Ardingly for anything original anymore, it’s full of repro’ rubbish but I have a great little address book of places and people to visit and I won’t share them.